Raw organ meats

Question
Geoff,
     Right now all I have access to is (organic) raw liver and kidney.  I love raw liver, and enjoy cooked kidney, but though I am not generally squimish, I have not been able to get myself to try raw kidney, partly fear of old residue of urine in it (I have drank my own fresh urine, it's old, not fresh that I'm afraid of).  Please advise!
      Also, I am similar to you in that raw dairy was not helpful to me but I do well with raw fat (suet).  What are your thoughts on amount: do you agree with Aajounus' recommendation to eat an equal amount of straight fat as the amount of protein?  Thanks!  Alan

Answer
Re kidney/urine:- Well, I've never actually tried drinking my own urine, and I would certainly think it a rather dangerous pastime, given reports! Certainly, eating kidney , even if aged, just doesn't seem quite so dangerous by comparison.


I think you're exaggerating re kidney. It might be a problem for you if it's aged for too long in the fridge, but if you buy it and eat it within 2 days of it being stored in the fridge, then that shouldn't be a problem re taste etc.. If it's sealed in a bag, and the temperature is low enough it could last quite a long time  without any significant  deterioration.

If you feel you have to wash the kidneys , that's fine, but, frankly, I never bother. All I do is cut out a little of the hard white connective tissue in the kidnet, and eat the rest of the kidney  whole. You could always use some herbs like garlic, pepper or samphire etc. to enhance the taste of the raw kidney, but it's unwise to overdo it, as many people recovering from illnesses due to modern diets tend to have very sensitive digestive systems, initially.
Actually, most rawpalaeodieters  rarely, if ever,  have problems with raw  kidney, but often do encounter some difficulties with raw liver, due to its concentrated nutrients. I would advise not overeating raw liver as you may find that(if you go all-raw) that the body will eventually decide it's getting too many excess nutrients from it, and you'll get loose stools and mild diarrhea, with most of the liver  not being properly  absorbed, as it passes through your body. By all means have it occasionally but not all the time.

To get used to the raw kidney, why not just gradually lower the temperature by 1 degree Centigrade every so often until you get to the stage where you can eat raw kidney at room-temperature without any problems? Oh, and never eat raw animal food straight out of the fridge, as it will taste odd - leave it to warm for an hour, out of the fridge.

Re Fat amounts:- I don't think it's a good idea to overdo the fat-consumption.It's better to rely on your instinct rather than rules. In my own case, I eat from a half or a quarter of what Aajonus recommends in terms of fat(usually bone-marrow or suet). This doesn't matter as fat has 2.25 times the amount of calories as protein, so I get more than enough of fat  this way. This is also more in line with our Palaeolithic times,  where wild animals, quite simply, didn't have the vast amounts of fat that (unhealthy) grain-fed animals now have.

If you're having problems getting hold of organic meat/offal, then I'd suggest you check the NorthStar Bison website, the Eatwild.com website(just put your State in the search function to get details of organic, grass-fed farmers in your local area). Also, as a last resort, there's this Yahoo group for BARF diets(raw-meat for pets) where you can find suppliers of naturally-reared meats if you ask around:-

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier/

Personally, I've always found that farmers' markets are the cheapest and most reliable way to get organic, grass-fed organ-meats, but , as I understand it, the US, except for some parts of the East Coast, is not known for having farmers' markets all year-round.

Hope This Helps,
Geoff Purcell  

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